Yes, newcomers, Charlotte existed before the American Revolution

If you're new to Charlotte and unaware that this town existed before the Revolutionary War, you need to read Richard Plumer's "Charlotte and the American Revolution: Reverend Alexander Craighead, the Mecklenburg Declaration & and Fight for Independence" (The History Press, $21.99 paper). You'll learn that a bloody battle, in which the Mecklenburg militia defeated the British troops, took place in 1780 at the intersection of Tryon and Trade. You'll learn how the fiery Presbyterian minister Alexander Craighead incited the people of the backcountry to stand up for their rights against the British crown. You'll learn that although the county had less than three percent of the colony's population, its Patriots accounted for more than a quarter of North Carolina's Revolutionary troops.
Plumer is full of information, and he'll be signing books and talking about Charlotte's role in the war on the following dates:

On Thursday, from 6-7:30 p.m. at Rural Hill, 4431 Neck Rd., Huntersville
On Saturday, at 3 p.m. at Barnes & Noble at Carolina Place, 11055 Carolina Place Parkway, Pineville
On Saturday, July 12 at 1 p.m. at Charlotte Museum of History, 3500 Shamrock Dr.

Bestselling author Nicholas Sparks in Charlotte Sept. 20

Bestselling author Nicholas Sparks will sign copies of his new novel, "The Longest Ride," at 5 p.m. Sept. 20 at Barnes & Noble at The Arboretum, 3327 Pineville-Matthews Road.

Sparks, who has sold more than 90 million books, will only sign copies of "The Longest Ride," and you've got a to buy the book from Barnes & Noble. The store is expecting a crowd, so employees will be handing out free tickets, required for the signing, beginning at 9 a.m. Sept. 20. Check the store for more details.

"The Longest Ride," set in North Carolina, tells stories of two couples -- 91-year-old Ira Levinson and his late wife, Ruth, and a Wake Forest College student named Sophia who falls in love with Luke, a young cowboy.
 As the book opens, Ira is alone and injured after wrecking his car on an isolated embankment.


Sparks lives with his family in New Bern, where he's active in several philanthropic efforts.

A big list of political books

Just in time for the Democratic National Convention, readers and local political experts came through with numerous suggestions for great political reads.

Below is a non-exhaustive, non-scientific list compiled from those suggestions. Find more in my accompanying story.

Is there a favorite book of yours missing from these lists? Feel free to comment and share.

“Advise and Consent,” Allen Drury
“Alexander Hamilton,” Ron Chernow
“All the President’s Men” and “The Final Days,” Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
“All Too Human,” George Stephanopoulos
“Animal Farm” and “1984,” George Orwell
“Anti-Intellectualism in American Life,” Richard Hofstadter
“The Boys on the Bus,” Timothy Crouse
“Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime,” John Heilemann and Mark Halperin
“The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad” and “The Post-American World,” Fareed Zakaria
“Grand Old Party: A History of the Republicans,” Lewis Gould
“The High Tide of American Conservatism: Davis, Coolidge and the 1924 Election,” Garland Tucker III
“Lyndon: An Oral Biography,” Merle Miller
“My Life,” Bill Clinton
“Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63,” Taylor Branch
“Party of the People: A History of the Democrats,” Jules Witcover
“Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington to George W. Bush,” Paul Boller
“Profiles in Courage,” John F. Kennedy
“Robert Kennedy,” Jack Newfield
“Southern Politics in State and Nation,” V.O. Key, Jr.
“Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln,” Doris Kearns Goodwin
“The Vital South: How Presidents are Elected,” Earl Black and Merle Black
“What It Takes: The Way to the White House,” Richard Ben Cramer
“The World Is Flat” and “Hot, Flat, and Crowded,” Thomas Friedman
“The Years of Lyndon Johnson,” four volumes, Robert Caro

Local authors to lead free writing workshop in Rock Hill

The Charlotte Observer's Rick Rothacker and Charlotte author Judy Goldman will lead discussions on June 11 at a free writing workshop organized by the Rock Hill Chapter of the S.C. Writers' Workshop.
Rothacker, The Observer's banking reporter, is author of "Banktown: The Rise and Struggles of Charlotte's Big Banks." Goldman, a novelist and poet, is author of "Early Leaving" and "The Slow Way Back."
The workshop, "From the Mind and the Heart to the Page: Write Your Story," will be 9 a.m.-5 p.m. June 11 at Grace Lutheran Church, 426 Oakland Ave. in Rock Hill. Lunch is provided. Registration is required. Contact kim.blumhyclak@gmail.com.